A way through Crisis-2: Handling Stress.

We have seen that crisis is common in life. Crisis is normal to life. No one can live in this life without crisis.

Now that we understand that, let's see what can be done about it, how to handle it, where we can get help in it, and how we can make it a positive instead of a negative factor in life.

The stress that accompanies crisis is the factor that makes it seem so unbearable. A common desire for escape in people is the wish to return to ancient, simpler times or to earlier, less-pressured days of their lives.

However, our ancestors and forebearers did not experience less stress because their lives were less sophisticated, or because their modes of communication separated them from modern methods and the fast pace of our "fax" and "modem" world.

Adam and Eve, as recorded in scripture, ran away from their denial of God's authority and attempted to hide from God. Their sin produced the stress of guilt, fear, and hiding.

Since stress accompanies crisis, stress is as common as to life as is crisis. A proper amount of stress, with its emotional, mental, and even physical pressure, is something to be accepted and even used as much as possible for the positive good.

A certain amount of pressure is needed to fine-tune a guitar or piano, a business, and even a person. People are not exempt. Its necessary to healthy living. Fitness requires some stress.

Pressure that is not used properly, however, can become the source of disaster by snapping the musical string, causing a mental breakdown, and at times destroying the person as well as a business.

Stress can come from a variety of sources, either internal or external, within or without.

As an example, let us see how apostle Paul endured hardship while sailing to Rome aboard a prison ship (Acts 27:14-). He told the captain the ship would be in danger from disaster if it left the harbor because the Lord had warned him of a storm coming up. Not believing the word of the Lord, and listening to other counsel, the captain ordered the crew to sail with Paul and other prisoners on board.

When the storm came, the ship was tossed for days on the high seas, and the sailors and passengers alike feared for their lives before the storm's fierceness. The constant, unrelenting gale caused apprehension, anxiety, and alarm over their fate.

Even though Paul was the victim of another's decision, he had an anchor in his belief. He was strong in prayer while others were weak in panic. He rode out the storm on his knees. Though having to submit to another's poor decision, Paul was not discouraged, and finally heard the Lord tell him that if every one would stay with the ship, they would all be saved. When Paul gave the captain the Lord's instruction, this time he listened, and ultimately they all made it safely to the land.

The captain acted in faith on his trust in Paul's word. Paul acted in faith on his trust in God's word.

We may encounter people, whose mistakes bring us hardship or loss, yet we, like Paul, also have an anchor to the soul -our faith in Christ (if you have it!). Like the captain, we may lose some ships in our lives, but if God is with us in the midst of the storm, we don't have to lose our lives for the sake of the ship.

When we reach the end of ourselves and think there is nothing left in us to face the circumstances of life; when we can not see anything else that can be done to end the crisis; when there is no understanding of what to do or which way to turn; when our ship of finances, marriage, business, or ministry is going down and it seems its about to sink; when we seem to be alone, naked, stripped of everything; the good news is -God is faithful!

God says that He is faithful to His children even when they seem to be totally depleted of faith. Even when our prayers ring hollow and seem to bounce back off the ceiling at us, He is faithful to us. We and God each have a different perspective of our lives. We see our life as a tapestry that on our side is filled with tangles and snarls, but He sees it from His perspective, the other side, which is the finely finished product.

Always remember that God never fails. God never quits. God never ends anything on a negative. God is faithful! Now the question is: Do you have a personal & living relationship with Him? Make sure you do have. That will make a difference in enabling you to go through the crisis. Be encouraged.